Too Close For Comfort
by 1st endeavor
Summary: This is an additonal scene for Episode 2.22 "Backscatter"


Title: Too Close For Comfort

Author: 1st Endeavor

Disclaimer: All the characters and references to the show "NUMB3RS" are the property of Cheryl Heuton and Nick Falacci, CBS and the Scott Brothers. I am not making any profit from this and no infringement is intended.

Spoiler: Episode 2.22

A/N: This is an additional scene for "Backscatter." If you haven't seen this episode then you won't fully understand my story. This is one of my favorite episodes but I wanted more from this scene, and after I watched it, these events came to mind and I had to share them with you. I hope that you will enjoy reading it.

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Charlie glanced sideways at the two men sitting in the back of the auditorium. He had a hunch who they were and it had been disconcerting to turn around and see them sitting behind his students. Logically, they should have left as soon as he sent the four students to find the campus security officer but to his dismay, they had remained seated and were not making any attempt to leave.

This worried him even more, because if these men were members of the Russian mafia, as he suspected, then they wouldn't hesitate to attack the officer when he arrived. They didn't appear to be worried about a confrontation with the security officer, but Charlie was. His eyes drifted over his students, the last thing he wanted was to have them exposed to possible gunfire. He had to get them out of here…he had to get them to safety. After all, it was his fault that they were in danger; his work for the FBI had put them in this position.

Even though Charlie had never seen these two men before, he had no doubt who they were and he was already familiar with their handi-work. The Russian mob killed anyone that got in their way and from the stony looks on the men's faces it looked as if he, Professor Charles Eppes, was now considered a threat to the Russian mafia.

He paced back and forth in front of his students, hoping to come up with a plan that would keep him from ending up like the photographs in his brother's office. Numerous pictures of the people that the mafia had killed were pinned up on a bulletin board in Don's office.

The two men might have left if he had been able to contact his brother because that would have meant that the F BI would already be on it's way to CalSci.. But that hadn't happened, he had been unable to get a clear signal on his cell phone and now he was running a serious possibility of ending up like the people in those photographs. If only he had been able to let his brother know what was happening.

Of course, his chances improved greatly if he stayed with his class, but as he scanned the young faces of his students, he knew what he had to do. He swallowed hard and came to the only decision that he could make; he had to get them out of here, even if it cost him his life.

He cleared his throat and addressed the class again. "Let's try another practical application for Decision Theory. Let's pretend that this room is on fire and let's see how quickly we can all exit and make our way to the quad in front of the math building." He paused to take a breath and gauge their reactions before continuing. " Leave your things here and exit by this aisle only." he said, motioning to the aisle that was opposite the two men. "On the count of three, go quickly and quietly. I'll be right behind you. One, two , three, go."

Charlie rocked back and forth nervously on his heels as he watched his students stand. His eyes shifted to the two men and he broke out in a sweat as he thought_. "It's me your after,_ _not them_, _please don't_ _hurt them, please let them leave." _The students began to move toward the aisle and his attention was drawn back to them. Some of them looked slightly bewildered, others seemed excited by the prospect of getting outside. They obediently followed his instructions however, and in single file they began to leave the room. He noticed that a few of them glanced across the aisle as they left and he turned his head following their movement.

Charlie's eyes widened fearfully as they settled on the two men. They were no longer sitting but were walking down the aisle toward him.

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Don scrubbed his hands through his hair for what must have been the tenth time since he and Megan had returned from the bank. It was hard to concentrate, he had never had a case get this personal before and it was beginning to freak him out. Walker's words kept whirling around in his mind. "_The Russian mob has shown us over and over again, it's willingness to make retribution's personal. They will come after you, the people you work with and the people that are closest to you." _

He sighed and took a sip of his coffee. Don had taken his brother off of the case with the hope that the Russian mobster would leave him alone. Unfortunately, Charlie's team theory was probably his best bet to catch these guys but Don couldn't take the risk that the mobster would strike at his brother. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to Charlie while he was helping him with a case. He rubbed wearily at his temple, the agent had never been in this position before and he found it extremely unsettling.

It was bad enough that his team had been targeted and yesterday's ambush weighed heavily on his mind. David was going to be fine though, and amazingly, no one else had been seriously injured in the assault; they had been so lucky. Koverchenko had set a trap for them, feeding his brother false information to get them to the ambush site. He suppressed a shudder; that thought brought him back to Charlie. The Russian had done his research on Don and knew that Charlie consulted for the FBI and with that information he had set his trap.

His musings were interrupted by Megan and Colby. They approached his desk with their heads bent closely together in a heated discussion. Don looked up as Megan perched herself on the corner of his desk while Colby hovered anxiously nearby.

"You got something?" he asked hopefully.

Megan pulled her hair back and shook her head. "No, but there's something bothering me Don, and Colby and I were just discussing it."

Don leaned back in his chair and thoughtfully studied the two agents; he had an idea where they were going with this. "All right, but if it's about Charlie, I've already told you…. he's not working this case anymore."

Colby raised a placating hand. "Look, I understand why you took him off of the case man, but I don't see how that is going to protect him."

Puzzled, Don's brow creased as he looked up at the agent. "What do you mean?"

Megan answered for him. "Don, we all know that you took Charlie off of the case, but Koverchenko doesn't. know it. As far as he's concerned, Charlie is still working for us, and he is aware of Charlie's capabilities." She straightened up and pulled her hair back. "I don't see the Russian as a risk taker. I don't believe that he will just sit back and assume that Charlie is no longer helping us."

Realization suddenly dawned in Don's eyes and he went into action. "Shit." he muttered as he pulled out his cell phone and hit the speed dial button. Don glanced at his agents, noting the worried expressions on their faces as he listened for his brother to answer the phone. "Come on Chuck, pick up the phone." he muttered .

What could he have been thinking? In his desperate attempt to keep his brother safe he had inadvertently put him at a greater risk. Koverchenko had made the case so personal that it had clouded his mind. Stubbornly, he decided to stay with his original plan and keep Charlie from working on the case but now he would also have a protection detail assigned to watch him and his Dad. Something he would have thought of if he hadn't been so personally involved.

"It went to voicemail." he closed the phone without leaving a message and slipped it into his pocket. " Come on, let's get over to CalSci." Don didn't have any proof that something was happening but his gut was telling him to hurry over there. Over the years as an agent, Don's gut instinct had never failed him, and right now it was sending multiple alarms to his brain.

Megan and Colby had just enough time to grab their things and make it to the elevator before the door closed. They shared anxious looks at Don as he impatiently kept pressing the lobby button.

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The two men had arrived at the bottom of the stairs before all of the students had exited the room cutting off any possibility of Charlie making an escape through another exit. They stood in front of him now, both with automatic pistols in their hands.

"Who are you? What do you want?" he asked nervously, backing away from them. The last student was out now, maybe he could stall until the campus security officer arrived. "The officer will be here any minute now."

"Come now, Professor, do you really think that we are afraid of a campus security officer?" The blond man snickered as he grabbed Charlie's arm and squeezed it tightly.

Charlie winced, it felt like his arm was in a vice. He tried to pull away from the big man but to no avail. "Let go…your hurting me." he cried out angrily.

"No games. We are going to go for a walk." He cocked his head to the side and said with a sneer. "That was a smart trick, getting all of the kids out of here , but unless we leave now other people could get hurt. You understand?"

The heavy Russian accent made some of the man's spoken words unintelligible, but Charlie didn't have any trouble comprehending his meaning. He swallowed nervously and looked from one man to the other before nodding his head in acquiescence.

They left the building by another exit, and with a Russian holding on to each of his arms and a gun shoved into his right side, Charlie began one of the longest walks of his life.

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Don brought his SUV to a sudden halt in the parking lot at CalSci and quickly jumped out. He shared a concerned look with his fellow agents before rushing over to the crowd of students milling around in front of the math building. A campus security officer was on the radio and just finishing up his conversation when the three agents stepped in front of him.

The lead agent anxiously flashed his badge in front of the officer as he quietly fought the panic that was beginning to build up inside of him. "Don Eppes, FBI. What's going on here?"

Momentarily surprised, the officer hesitated before speaking. "Ah….Eppes…..as in Professor Eppes?"

Impatiently, Don answered. "Yes." The agent glanced around in a desperate attempt to locate his brother. "Is this his class? Where is he?"

"That's just it, we can't find him" The officer waved a hand at the crowd of students. "He sent some students to find me and when I got here the rest of his class was already out here in front of the building, but he didn't follow them out and he's not inside either."

Colby spoke up. "Then where is he and why would he send his students outside?"

"What about his office? Did anyone check there?" Megan asked worriedly before the officer had a chance to answer the first question.

The officer held up a hand to halt the questions. "Look we don't have any answers yet but my partner checked out his office. Looks like someone broke into it. The lock's busted and it's been ransacked."

"There's only one reason that Charlie would send his students outside….to protect them." Don stared at the security officer. "Did the students see anything?"

"A few of them said they saw two men sitting in the back of the room as they were leaving. Said they didn't know when the men had come in."

"Two men, huh?" Don looked around the crowd. "What happened to them?"

The officer shrugged. "Cant find them either" he paused and looked around at the agents. "Do you think they took Professor Eppes?"

Don rubbed his chin nervously. "We can't rule it out." He glanced around the parking lot. "Did you find any unauthorized cars on campus?"

The officer shook his head. "No, as a matter of fact, we were patrolling the parking lot when the students found us."

"How much time are we talking here?' Don asked abruptly..

"Ah, maybe ten minutes." The officer answered.

Don turned suddenly and walked quickly to the edge of the sidewalk. He glanced all around, studying the area before turning back around to face the officer and his agents.

"Where's the nearest off-campus parking?" When the officer didn't answer right away, Don growled. ""Hurry up man, there isn't much time!"

"Ah… from here, that would be Alvara street" he answered, pointing in a direction as he spoke. "Five blocks that way."

"Five blocks." Don mused out loud.. "A normal walk would take about twenty-five minutes and they wouldn't want to attract any attention. Come on, we have to hurry!" he called over his shoulder as he ran to his SUV. Colby barely had his door closed before Don pealed out of the parking lot in the direction of Alvara street.

"Watch for them, we have to find them before they can get Chalie into their car." Don said breathlessly as he drove and tried to watch for his brother at the same time.

Don drove slowly as they perused the crowded sidewalk. A number of classes had just ended and clusters of students were scattered all along the busy walkway. Two blocks from the math building the number of students began to thin out and as Don approached the end of the second block, they spotted three men walking casually down the street. Charlie was easily recognizable, sandwiched in between two much larger men.

"Oh man." Colby muttered. "They really have him squeezed in there. The one on the right definitely has a gun pointed at Charlie's ribs."

Don kept the vehicle at a normal speed so he wouldn't attract their attention and had soon passed them. He watched them from his side view mirror until they were out of sight. Charlie looked pale but appeared uninjured.

Megan closed her phone and turned to Don. "SWAT will be here in ten minutes."

A few minutes later Don pulled into a parking spot along Alvara street and turned off the ignition. "We don't have time for SWAT. If they get him in a car, it's all over."

Megan looked up in surprise. "Don what do you intend to do?"

" I've got an idea." Don removed his holster and badge and laid them on the seat. He quickly climbed out of the SUV and stripped off his jacket as Colby and Megan joined him. Seeing the puzzled expressions on their faces, he filled them in as he jammed his gun behind his back in the waistband of his jeans. Don pulled his shirt down to cover the gun and then turned his FBI cap around so the initials couldn't be seen.

"I'll approach them from the front and distract them while you two come up from behind and disarm them."

"That's pretty risky Don. Your not even wearing a vest." Colby said worriedly, clearly having issues with his friend's plan.

"It's a risk I'll have to take. If I wear a vest they'll spot me right away and I won't be able to get near them" he paused to swallow. "Colby, toss me that Frisbee." he said with a nod toward the back of the SUV. "If I play this right, they won't even be suspicious of me until I'm close enough to pull my gun on them."

Seeing their hesitation he added. "Look, we don't have much time and this may be Charlie's only chance. I'll start walking toward them, you two take the car and get behind them, You can sneak up on them while I have them talking." he paused, making eye contact with them. "Both of you put on your vests, that's an order."

He grabbed the Frisbee from Colby's hand and without another word, darted to the sidewalk and started walking casually back toward the campus.

The agents went into action. Megan jumped behind the wheel and quickly turned the vehicle around and sped back up the street, passing Don, and then a block later they pulled into a parking space just as Charlie and the Russians walked by.

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The Russian closed his phone and returned it to his pocket. "That was Nicoli, there are no police around, the area is still clear."

Charlie glanced around him, looking for an avenue of escape, nodding occasionally to a student that would call out a greeting. He cleared his throat. "What….where are you taking me?"

The Russian holding the gun responded. "We are going to go for a ride Professor. Yuri wants to meet you in person. Just act normal and no one will get hurt."

Petroff , the dark haired Russian, snickered and glanced sideways at his partner before adding. "A very short ride."

Charlie swallowed hard, the meaning of Petroff's statement was all too clear.

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Nicoli had just closed his phone when he noticed the black SUV parked along the street. He didn't think too much about it until two people rushed back to the vehicle and made a U-turn to head back up the street. That was when he noticed the government plates. He turned his white van around to follow them and watched in surprise when they pulled into another parking spot only a half a block up from their previous location. He pulled into a parking space halfway down the street and spotted his cohorts walking with the professor. His eyes shfted to the occupants of the vehicle who had hurriedly left the car and were now walking behind his associates. He noted with distress that they were wearing protective vests that were en blazoned with the initials of the FBI.

Nicoli swallowed hard and pulled out his phone. It was too late to warn Dimitri and Petroff but he had to report it to Yuri and find out what his new instructions were going to be. He had a strong feeling what Yuri would tell him, so while the phone was ringing, he grabbed the sniper's rifle from the back of the van and began to load it.

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Don deliberately slowed his steps and twirled the Frisbee in his hands as he walked toward the school.

He smiled in relief as he passed several students tossing a Frisbee back and forth; that would help lend credence to his cover. He popped a stick of gum into his mouth and tossed the Frisbee a few feet into the air and as he caught it, Charlie and the Russians came into view. He continued to throw it into the air and catch it until he was within thirty feet of the trio. When the gap between them began to close, he tossed it toward Charlie, calling out as it landed at his feet.

"Sorry, Professor Eppes. Would you mind throwing it back to me?"

The Russians stopped and stared suspiciously at the approaching man. The one holding the gun jabbed Charlie in the ribs and leaned in a little closer. He spoke threateningly in the young man's ear.

"Pick it up and throw it back and act friendly. We don't want him to think anything is wrong….now do we?"

Charlie slowly bent over and picked up the Frisbee, casually tossing it back to his brother. He had spotted Don right away and knew that he had some plan in mind, but Charlie hadn't figured out what it was yet. But his relief turned to concern as he watched Don approach them. These men were armed and it didn't look like Don was wearing a Kevlar vest. What was he thinking?

The Russians pushed him forward again and they continued their walk, only to halt a moment later as Don stopped directly in front of them. Flashing Charlie a wide smile he started up a conversation.

"Hi Professor Eppes, do you have time for a game?" Don asked innocently waving the Frisbee into the air.

"No….ah, sorry, I'm afraid I'm late for a meeting." Charlie answered, wincing as the Russian viciously jammed the gun into his ribs.

"Aren't you a little old to be attending school?" The blond Russian asked suspiciously.

Don grinned. "Yeah, I graduated a few years ago but my younger brother has classes here. Professor Eppes is one of his teachers." He looked his brother in the eye and tried to reassure him as he spoke. "How did Edward do on his test today Professor?"

Charlie played along. "It hasn't been one of his better days, Alan." he raised an eyebrow. "If you get my drift?"

"Loud and clear Professor." Don nodded, maintaining his grin. "I'll let my father know, he'll make sure that Eddie doesn't stray too far from his studies."

The dark haired Russian spoke up suddenly. "We don't have time for this."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep you from your meeting." Don continued on amicably as he started to move out of their way. Suddenly, another thought occurred to him. "Hey, are you guys professors too?"

"Yes." the blond one spoke up immediately and grinned at his partner, obviously amused at the idea that he could be taken for a professor. "We are Russian professors and we must hurry. We are running late for a meeting." he gripped Charlie's arm tighter. "Let's go Professor Eppes."

They started to move forward and Don took a step backwards, pretending to drop the Frisbee.

"Oops, sorry." The agent said and as he started to reach downward with his left hand, his right hand pulled his gun from the waistband of his jeans. He straightened up quickly, aiming his gun at the Russian that had the gun shoved into his brother's side.

"FBI. Freeze!" he said forcefully, planting himself firmly in front Dimitri.

The blond Russian moved his hand so that Don could see the gun pressed against Charlie's side. "Drop your gun or I will shoot him."

"That's not going to happen." Don replied in a steely voice. "Drop your gun and you just might live for another day."

Undaunted, the other Russian smiled. "Dimitri, perhaps the agent should go back to school and learn to count." He raised his hand up so that Don could clearly see the gun that he was holding, the one that he had just aimed at the agent's chest. "You are out-numbered FBI." he snickered. "It is two against one."

A new voice weighed in on the discussion and Charlie felt the two Russians tighten their hold on him.

"Maybe you're the one's who should go back to school." Megan said, between her clenched teeth. She knew if the mobster pulled that trigger Don was a dead man. "I believe it's three against two." She placed the muzzle of her gun against the dark-haired Russians's head.

Rage and fear crossed the Russian's features as he returned Don's stare. "I swear that I will kill him." Dimitri's fingers closed tightly around Charlie's arm, jerking the younger man closer to him.

Don's eyes narrowed and he took a step closer to the Russian, aiming his gun at a point between Dimitri's eyes. "You pull that trigger and I will blow your brains all over this sidewalk."

'I know your FBI rules. If I pull this trigger and drop my gun, you will have to take me in." he responded with a sneer. "I will go to jail, but he will be dead."

Don clenched his jaw as his finger tightened on the trigger of his gun and he spoke with a deadly calm that sent a shudder through the mobster. "As an FBI agent I would have to take you in…..but if you shoot my brother.... I promise you, that your head will explode as soon as you pull that trigger."

Sweat was beading on the Russian's forehead and fear had replaced the rage in his eyes. "You are Agent Eppes?"

"That's right." Don returned coldly. "And I don't like people that point guns at my brother."

"What's it going to be ruskie?" Colby asked as he put his own gun against the man's back, making sure that the Russian knew that he was still behind him.

The two Russian's shared a quick look and then Petroff whined. "Yuri will kill us if we don't bring the Professor to him."

"Then you have a choice to make because if you try to take my brother, I will kill you." Don said in a steely voice. "Or, you can drop your guns and release him and we'll put you in protective custody if you cooperate with us." Despite fighting back a well of panic that was threatening to engulf him, Don managed to maintain a steady hand, leaving no doubt to the Russian's that he was in total control of the situation.

Charlie stood stock still, afraid to move. It was a volatile situation and he didn't want to upset the balance. One wrong move on his part could get his brother killed. As much as he appreciated Don being there, he knew that he would never forgive himself if his brother was hurt trying to rescue him. Yes, he knew that it was Don's job, but this time he wasn't even wearing protective gear and Petroff had a gun pointed at his chest. Unmoving, he stared at his brother with worried and fearful eyes, watching him as he tried to reason with the Russians.

Don kept his focus on the Russian, although he could clearly see Charlie's face and the frightened expression on his face. He wanted to relieve the fear he saw reflected in his dark brown eyes but he couldn't break his eye contact with Dimitri. Forcing his mind to stay focused on the Russian, Don pushed forward.

"What's it going to be boys. Live or die?" The agent asked again.

"I….I don't want to die." Petroff said and lowered his gun.

Megan immediately took it from his hand and jerked the man's arms behind him, cuffing him instantly.

"You fool!" Dimitri hissed. "Yuri will find you!"

"Maybe." his partnered retorted as Megan pulled him back away from Charlie. "At least I'll have a chance."

Frustrated, Dimitri jabbed the barrel of the gun even further into Charlie's side prompting a gasp from the smaller man.

Don clenched his jaw tighter at the painful look that crossed his brother's face. "Let…him…go!" he spoke slowly and forcefully.

Dimitri stared into the agent's eyes. He was telling the truth, the man would kill him if he pulled the trigger. Maybe Petroff was right, at least he would get to live a little longer. He nodded his head to make the agent aware of his intentions.

"Drop the gun and put your hands in the air." Don demanded. He literally held his breath as the Russian slowly removed the gun from his brother's side and let it drop to the ground. As soon as the weapon left the man's hand , Don stretched out his own hand and gripped Charlie's arm, pulling him forward until he could push the younger man behind him.

Suddenly two shots rang out, followed by a loud screeching noise as a vehicle burned rubber to get away from the area.

"Shots fired, take cover!" Don yelled as he immediately turned and grabbed Charlie by the collar, pushing him to the ground and throwing himself on top of his brother.

Charlie grunted with the force of the impact and the crushing weight of his brother. A half a second later they both grunted as the air was forced from their lungs when a heavier weight fell on top of Don. The combined weight was beginning to crush the smaller man on the bottom of the pile. Charlie couldn't move an inch, no matter how hard he tried; he was completely pinned to the ground.

"Don….can't ..breathe." Charlie gasped out.

"Hang…on." Don gasped back as he tried to shift his weight. "I'm….trying….to move."

Relief came a few moments later when Don felt the weight pulled off of him. He immediately rolled off his brother, coming to rest on his knees.

"Don, are you okay? Were you hit?' Megan asked as she checked Dimitri's body for a pulse.

"No, I'm fine." he answered absently while he watched Charlie turn himself over. "You okay Buddy?"

Charlie just lay there, sprawled out on the ground with his eyes closed trying to get his breath. At Don's words, he opened his eyes to meet his brothers. The same look of relief was reflected in two pair of brown eyes as the brother's made eye contact.

"Am…now." Charlie answered breathlessly. "You?"

"Yeah. Me too." he said, forcing himself to break eye contact with his brother. "Both dead?"

"Got 'em both." Colby said as he finished checking out Petroff's body. "He took one to the heart. I guess Yuri didn't want to risk them telling us anything."

"This one got it in the head and landed right on top of you guys." Megan said, nodding at the body lying on the ground near the brothers.

"Man, that was too close." Don said as he came to his feet. He bent down and held his hand out to his brother.

"Thanks." Charlie said as he grasped his brother's hand and was pulled to his feet. His eyes drifted to Dimitr's face, his eyes wide open and staring, and he couldn't suppress a shudder. He shifted his gaze and met his brother's eyes once again. "Your right, that was too close for comfort." Reluctantly, he released his brother's hand and wiped at his brow.

Don turned to face his agents. "Did either of you see the shooter?"

"Didn't even get the plates." Colby said disgustedly. "We all went for cover and it was gone by the time we looked up." He pulled out his phone and reported the incident.

"Where did you park?"

Megan turned and pointed up the street. "Right over there." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the keys. "Here."

"Don, the team's on the way over to clear the site. They'll be here in fifteen minutes." Colby remarked, tucking his phone back in his pocket.

"How did you know?" Charlie asked. "I tried to call you but I couldn't get a signal."

"I didn't know, we just got lucky." Don's head came up suddenly and his eyes widened as if he just remembered something.

"Oh…Charlie."

Charlie's eyes widened as he realized what his brother was thinking. "My work at the house."

Don sprinted for his car with Charlie close behind him.

_Finis_

A/N: The rest of the episode picks up in the garage where they discover the cigarette butt.

"_Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates this wonderful holiday and my sincere wish of Peace and Joy to everyone"_

_Vicki_

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